Music In Her Soul
by lokilette
Summary: Luna Lovegood learns about death and war. She learns about pain and heartache. Then, she learns how to heal. She learns how to love. Finally, she learns that sometimes it's OK to move on. Told in a 10-part drabble collection inspired by songs. Rated T for violence and death.
1. Reflection

**Author's Note:** For the iPod Shuffle Challenge, a collection of 10 drabbles inspired by using shuffle on my iPod and writing for the duration of the song using the song as a prompt.

Song: "Reflection" by Christina Aguilera.

* * *

It was just a glint out of the corner of her eye at first, something that flashed a deathly, green glow back at the world. But Luna remembered the spark of curiosity it lit within her, even as the battle raged. During the eye of the storm, she returned to that spot.

It was a mirror, stained with dust and debris and who knows what else. There were only a few spots left untouched that actually served its original purpose. With a sleeve, she wiped off a portion of it.

What Luna saw, at first, terrified her. Was this the person she had become? Her eyes seemed hollow and cold, her face too gaunt, her skin too pale. Her hair was caked with dirt, her clothes soiled. She looked like a ghost of her former self. Is this what death did to a person? Is this the real outcome of war?

No, she decided, this shadow in the glass was _not_ who she truly was. Not even in war. Not even in death. In a flash of anger, she overturned the mirror and watched gleefully as it shattered into a thousand irreparable pieces. No longer would it showcase lies.

* * *

**Disclaimer: **Harry Potter and everything related is property of J.K. Rowling.


	2. SING

**Author's Note:** Song prompt - "SING" by My Chemical Romance.

Luna looked around her, at the lamenting faces and dejected souls that inhabited the bodies of her friends. As fleeting as it had been, hope had left them. They were so convinced that Harry would be their savior, and now Voldemort was demanding his surrender. Harry would die. They would all die. Hogwarts would fall. There would be no future. It was all written in their faces.

"Stop it," Luna whispered, low enough, at first, that no one heard her.

"STOP IT!" she shouted. They all turned to look at her now. They weren't even surprised. Luna wasn't sure if they felt anything anymore.

"I mean..." Her voice trembled and her body followed suit.

"Why are we here?" she finally asked. "If you're all so sure that only Harry can do this, then why are we all here? I thought we were supposed to fight. _I'm_ going to fight. I won't let Harry do this alone."

There was a mumble that slithered through the students. Some shifted their eyes and looked away, some bowed their head. Then Neville smiled.

"Let's do this," he agreed. "For Harry."

"No," Luna said, shaking her head furiously. "Let's do this _with_ Harry. For our future."


	3. Getting Away With Murder

**Author's Note: **Song - "Getting Away With Murder" by Papa Roach

This was wrong. Everything about it. Every fiber of Luna's body screamed it, and her heart – or what was left of it – broke at the realization. This was murder. However they wanted to dress it up, whatever colors they used to paint it, they were murderers.

The ground of Hogwarts was littered with bodies, and yet it wasn't time to mourn the dead. Even if this was the lesser of two evils, even if it was necessary, even if there was no way to avoid it, this was wrong, and Luna knew that.

She wanted to mourn, even there in the midst of the battle. Not just for the Hogwarts students. Not just for their broken future. Luna's heart wept for the Death Eaters, too. They were people, even if they were misguided. There was no such thing as complete evil. She refused to believe that. There were good deeds and bad deeds, and sometimes people just did a lot of bad.

In the end, Luna knew she was still getting away with murder.


	4. Breaking

**Author's Note:** Song - "Breakin'" by the All-American Rejects

Luna dreaded goodbyes most of all. It was always the hardest thing, and no one ever had any sense of what should be said. Then there was the confusion about did they really mean goodbye or just see you later? Would their paths ever cross again?

But that was no longer true. Goodbyes weren't the hardest; never getting the chance to say goodbye was.

As Luna walked through the Great Hall, a hush fell over her like a gentle breeze. There was a heaviness in the air, leavened with every unspoken word she ever regretted not uttering. The chance would never rise again. The dead told no tales.

With every step she took, her heart broke even more. Luna would have a future, but regardless of how long she lived there would be pieces of her that remained there, in that time, entombed amid the stone and debris of the castle.

It hurt to think about going on without them. It hurt just to think about going on. Luna knew her heart would never be whole again, but that was the cost of living – and dying. A heart was simply always meant to break.


	5. To Where You Are

**Author's Note: **Song - "To Where You Are" by Josh Groban

The day was warm, with the sun smiling down overhead. Luna was remembering how to smile, too, even though the sadness that still snuck up and held her in its clutches every now and then. There was a cool breeze over the land that tugged on her dress as if begging her to run away with it. Somewhere far into the distance. Somewhere the past wouldn't loom over them.

_I wonder_, she thought, looking over the lake at Hogwarts, _how far it is to where they are._ Can a distance like that be measured? If it could, would it be in meters? Kilometers? Light-years? They said the shortest distance was that between two hearts.

Luna had a hard time accepting that the closest she would be to everyone who was lost was the warm tingle of memories that seeped out of her heart from time to time. When the moment was right. When the sun was shining like it was, and the wind was blowing gently, almost like someone was trying to whisper to her.

Luna smiled at the thought. Maybe someone _was_ trying to talk. Somewhere caught up in the breeze, she imagined she could hear the words of the dead, one last time.


	6. Old City Bar

**Author's Note:** Song - "Old City Bar" by the Trans-Siberian Orchestra

The snowflakes swirled lazily in the sky, pirouetting wherever the wind bid them dance. Everything was smothered under a pristine blanket of white, and the moonlight danced over everything without disturbing a thing. From where Luna was watching, it looked like perfection.

Inside was nothing to turn up your nose at either, she realized, as she turned around. It was just her and her father, but, then again, that's how it had always been in the past. Why should that change? Sometimes things were just fine the way they were.

"You've hung up the mistletoe this year," Luna commented as her father walked in the room.

"Oh, yes, but don't worry. I made sure there were no nargles in them." He winked at her, and Luna flashed him the obligatory smile.

It was a safe bet there were no nargles in them. In fact, Luna had come to realize that half the creatures her father spoke of were nothing more than fancy delusions of an overactive imagination. She hadn't the heart to tell him, not in so many words, but what was the point in believing in things that were never there? Things that no one had ever seen?

"I know it's not Christmas just yet," Xeno announced, "but I got you a present." He retrieved a small box, wrapped up neat and tidy with a bow, from under the fully-decorated tree. "I want you to open it early. Go on."

Luna set down her hot chocolate and gathered the box in her hands. She tugged at the bow, and it neatly unraveled its secrets to her. Inside was a small sculpture of a ferocious, horse-shaped creature with a mane and tail of fire with flames at its feet. It left behind it several blazing footprints at the base of the statue.

"A heliopath," Luna whispered, running her finger over the cool, smooth metal it was carved from.

"Well, I know you've never seen one. I thought you might like to know what they look like." Xeno pulled his daughter close, and Luna felt safe and warm, like the world couldn't touch her there.

Maybe there was still magic left in the world that no one had ever seen before. Maybe it was still worth believing in. After all, to some thestrals were nothing more than myth and legend, but she had seen them with her own eyes. They were _real_. Luna decided that she would keep believing that sometimes inexplicable, amazing things existed, even if they were never seen.


	7. Paradise

**Author's Note:** Song - "Paradise (Peponi)" by The Piano Guys

Nothing went the way it was planned. The children were running and screaming like someone had transfigured them into little monsters. Neville was chasing them down the best he could, instigating squeals of glee in his prey.

Luna couldn't tell who was worse off, the bride having a melt down in the dressing room about everything being just so or the husband standing at the alter looking like his best man was the only thing keeping him upright. Ginny had gone to console Hermione the best she could, and Harry was slapping Ron's cheeks gently, attempting to drag him back to reality.

The sky had let loose in a slow drizzle, and Molly Weasley was on top of things.

"It's just a spot of rain," she reassured everyone with a smile, flicking her wand and conjuring a make-shift tent.

One of the younger kids let out a shriek of delight, losing control of his magic. He launched himself under the dinner table, bringing the plates and cutlery to life. They marched off the table and joined the chase around the yard. Bill and Percy had to combine forces just to right them all, leaving them to run awkwardly after the few dishes that refused to be wrangled.

George was entertaining the guests with goodies from his store—until a stray explosion lit Molly's newly-conjured tent on fire. Before Luna could warn him, he used aguamenti to put it out, soaking half the guests in the meantime. She couldn't help but giggle.

No, nothing had gone quite the way it was supposed to, but they were all together. Always. Through everything. It was perfection. It was paradise.


	8. Love Is A Beautiful Thing

**Author's Note:** Song - "Love Is A Beautiful thing"

Everyone had lined the aisles. They were together again. Even the people who weren't there physically were there; Luna felt warm wrapped in their memory. There was no room for sadness. Weddings were about joy and beauty. The past would have to stay in the past. Today, she looked to her future. No, _their_ future.

The music played and everyone stood. Her soon-to-be-husband was waiting. Her father's arm was strong and supporting, carrying her into this new stage of her life. He had always been beside her. Luna didn't like to think of it as giving her away but allowing someone else in. He wasn't losing a daughter; he was gaining a son.

The look on Rolf's face was priceless as she stepped out. It was a combination of horror and awe, the sort of expression you might have if someone were to turn their head around like an owl. Luna could imagine how her dress must look to "normal" people, the way she was adorned with rainbows and spangles, topped off with a tiara of unicorn horns gifted to her by her father. It was far from normal, but it was perfectly Luna, and she loved every ridiculous inch of it.


	9. Bailamos

**Author's Note:** Song - "Bailamos" by Enrique Iglesias

From where she stood, Luna couldn't tell if the world was moving under her or if she was moving the world. It didn't really matter. She was caught up in those dark-brown eyes. What world? All that existed were the two of them.

Luna could almost feel his heart beat, when he pulled her close, in a way that mimicked her own. They blended into one, becoming the man and wife the preacher had declared them to be. This was her safe haven. Wherever he was would be her home.

As she looked at Rolf, Luna could see her future. It would be glorious, whatever was in store. It would be sad and it would be funny. It would be everything they hoped for and everything they dreaded. They would have children – the number and genders were insignificant. They would fight and argue and fall apart, only to be built back up stronger, with a new foundation. They would grow old and, eventually, they would die—together.

Together, they would waltz through whatever life threw at them. That's what marriage was. That's what love was. There, spinning endlessly, trapped outside of time, Luna was sure—the world truly did revolve around them.


	10. Incomplete

**Author's Note:** Song - "Incomplete" by the Backstreet Boys (don't judge me! :P)

The night was engorged with silence, and Luna was a part of it. She let it seep into her as she stood motionless, a stone gargoyle keeping watch. It was both the most rewarding and the most exhausting job she could ever have imagined.

The curtains were drawn in the room, but the moonlight passed through them like a ghost, drawing patterns on the floor. Somewhere in the distance, a wolf howled a long, sad tribute to the stillness it had shattered.

Luna could hear the babies breathing, taking slow, melodic inhales. It was the most beautiful song she had ever heard, a soundtrack to her life. If everything she ever did and everything left for her to do were to become a musical, each song would be born from this whisper of sound, this exhaling of dreams.

As Luna leaned over the crib, careful to not wake them, she planted a kiss on each boy's forehead.

"Without you, my life was incomplete," she whispered.


End file.
